


Moving Past the Past

by Anonymous



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Coming Out, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Gender Dysphoria, Misgendering, Misunderstandings, Non-Binary Hilda Valentine Goneril, Non-binary character, Other, Trans Female Character, Trans Marianne von Edmund
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:22:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29787090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Marianne's in university, but is still surrounded by her high school friends... How can she move on?Maybe her online friend Val can help...
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Kudos: 6
Collections: Anonymous





	Moving Past the Past

**Author's Note:**

> Content Warning: Misgendering and deadnaming.

Marianne mixed a juice, a bit frustrated. 

Her university life was fine. Just fine. 

The professors were great. The classes were good. In fact, many said her university was the greatest for animal husbandry in all of Fodlan.

Problem was… it was also a university in her hometown. 

Ergo, her dramatic exit from high school fell short and her university life was less a "new start" and more of an expansion to the past.

And nobody embodied this better then the woman for whom Marianne was making a smoothie that afternoon: Hilda.

Marianne used to like Hilda. She was nice to Marianne and would do her favours… 

However, Marianne saw the way she treated her other friends. Hilda was a manipulator. She was lazy. She would pawn off work to others with only a smile and a “thank you” as repayment. A Business major and proud of it, Marianne was sure she’d end up founding a MLM scheme or some other business of moral ambiguousness. 

She may have also been racist? Further evidence was needed, but the way she treated Claude raised some red flags…

This made Marianne sad. Moreover, it made her suspicious. Every kind thing Hilda did for her now had a silent “And now you owe me!” attached and Hilda’s smile seemed almost mocking.

“Your hair looks really nice, Marianne! You should let me make you a hairclip sometime… It’d be really cute.”

Marianne handed her her smoothie, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

Marianne was secure in her femininity. She was a woman. She didn’t need Hilda’s approval and Hilda should stop offering it.  


Though… The question remained unanswered… If Hilda was constantly buttering her up for favours, then what did Hilda want from her?

\---

Val was Marianne’s favourite person. It was absurd to consider, really, but they were undoubtedly the nicest person Marianne knew.

Having met online through a trans solidarity group, Marianne had never seen Val, but she knew they were the most beautiful enby in the world. Every word they spoke was caring. They were willing to be vulnerable, but never overshared uncomfortably. They could phrase complex ideas in simple ways and their discussions of the pressure they feel to perform their femininity. 

“I always find myself saying I’m delicate… I know I’m strong! I just… never feel like I can say it, you know?”

They were a good listener. They were always willing to do favours for people. 

Most adorably, they ran a small Etsy shop that Marianne just loved. They made all sorts of trinkets and accessories. 

“You don’t need to pay me, Mari. I’ll make you whatever you want for free.”

“No, no, Val! I insist. You should be paid for your work!”

“Well… Thanks. **❤️** ”

Marianne liked Val. They were kind and nothing like her high school friends.

\---

The day Hilda revealed her hand to Marianne was a day that would change the course of both of their lives forever.

Marianne sat in the library, working hard on her freshman English project that was worth the absurd 80% of her final grade. As the only mandatory course shared by all majors, this was the big one for all of her high school friends.

And thus entered Hilda, buttering Marianne up, batting her eyelashes, and offering to do things for her… Lying, as always.

This was it. This is why Hilda was always nice to Marianne. She saved the biggest favour especially for her and was willing to prepare for it in advance. 

“Hey, Marianne?” Hilda asked, voice dripping with false sincerity. “Can I ask you a question? It’s kind of important…”

And Marianne snapped.

“No, Hilda. You can’t.”

“What?”

“Hilda. I am doing my own work. You have to do yours. You can’t keep pawning off your responsibilities on other people!”

Hilda stared at Marianne in shock. 

Crocodile tears fell.

“I… am sorry.”

“Well, sometimes sorry isn’t going to cut it.”

“I think I have to go.”

Hilda ran away and Marianne smiled.

She had stood up for herself for the first time… Maybe her university experience could be unique after all.

\--

That night, Marianne sat on her computer and a Discord notification popped up.

“Mari? Can we talk?”

“Sure, Val! What’s up?”

“I think my heart is broken.”

“Oh no! What’s wrong?"

“I was going to come out to a friend today. Like, an IRL friend. Someone I’ve known for years. She’s trans too and I’m just… so jealous of her. She’s trans and fucking _owns_ it in a way I never could.”

“I think you own it plenty well. Remember that being trans isn't a competition and we're all at different changes of life! That said, how’d it go?”

“She shut me down entirely. And… I think she knew? She was talking about how it’s my responsibility to do my own work and it’s like… I know, my gender is my business, but support would be nice? Is it too much to ask for her to hear me out?”

Marianne’s heart cracked. How could someone treat someone as nice as Val so harshly?

“That is not too much to ask! Val, you deserve love and support. If someone is unable or unwilling to provide it, then that’s her problem. You are lovely and non-binary and deserve to be proud of it and happy.”

“Thanks Mari.  **❤️** That means a lot.”

“Anytime. I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

“I think it’s just my high school friends, you know? I want to like them, but they make me feel like someone I’m not, you know?”

“I can relate… One of my high school friends is a pain. She butters people up and milks them dry. I finally had to tell her off about it as it's just been an endless loop of exploitation.”

“Ugh, people like that are the worst. I’m in Business right now and the department has a few of those.”

“Lol, she’s in business too. I wonder if you’ve run into her.”

“Ew. Don’t tell me her name! I’d like to maintain some innocence.”

“Oh, trust me, I wouldn’t subject you to her.”

“Well… Thanks… Even if it’s just making fun of someone, this conversation has really cheered me up.”

“Anytime!”

Marianne resumed work for about five minutes, then Val sent another message.

“We should ditch them.”

“What?”

“Think about it… We both have shitty high school friends. We should ditch them. Make our own friendships! Make our university experiences better. Live our lives on our own terms. Live for the future, not who we once were!”

Marianne looked at the screen for a few moments.

Ditch her friends? 

Well… They weren’t exactly good friends anyway. The memories attached to them weren’t positive either…

“Sure. I think that sounds lovely.”

\---

Veterinarian School was going to be expensive, but Marianne was prepared to do it. She’d finally be moving out of her hometown and would be following her passions.

And she wouldn’t be alone. Val would be embarking on this journey as her partner and she was ready for them to get on an airplane together in preparation for their lives as roommates.

This would also be the first time they actually… meet.

Marianne had come to like the mystique of Val. She liked not knowing what they looked like; it was a comfortable anonymity in a town where it felt like everyone knew each other. She didn’t need to see Val to know they were the most beautiful enby in the world. It came across in their actions and how they followed their passions, as they left business behind to pursue fashion design directly. She had been offered photos - especially before and after Val had their top surgery - but it never felt necessary. Photos were just a representation of the body; Val’s beauty was found within.

So, sitting at the coffee shop of an airport terminal, Marianne waited for Val to appear.

And they did! Rounding the corner with short black hair, Marriane and Val met eyes for the first time… and Val’s face fell.

“Hello!” Marianne called out. “You look as beautiful as I imagined.”

Val stared at Marianne confused. “Marianne? What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you, silly! Sorry, is this not the place?”

“This is the place! This is where I’m meeting my new roommate, Mari… anne. Marianne. Marianne. Oh god.”

“Oh yeah, I guess I never actually mentioned my full name… How did you know it?”

“I’m such an idiot…” Val muttered. “I thought I could escape it… I thought I could be myself, but no… The past is always going to come back to bite me…”

Marianne was confused. Very confused. Maybe the airport harboured bad memories for Val?  


Marianne didn’t ask what they meant. She figured it wasn’t her place to.

That said, she wasn’t about to let Val have a panic attack in front of her.

“Now now, Val. Breathe. You are you. You are Val. And whatever memories this is dredging up can’t hurt you. Okay? Breathe in… Breathe out…”

Val began to breathe steadier. They looked up at Marianne. 

"Marianne. I am Hilda."

Marianne looked at them intently. Val's face was stained with tiers, but there was a tinge of recognizably under it.

"No," Marianne replied. "You are Val, Val."

Val rolled their eyes. "Okay, so I _was_ Hilda. My _deadname_ is Hilda. Point is: You hate me!"

"I love _you_ , Val. The Val I know is the sweetest and kindest person in the world. That person you mentioned... I must have been wrong about them and, for that, I am sorry."

Val was still crying, but it slowed down.

"Are you... sure?"

"I am certain."

“Well then... I forgive you.” they said. “You hurt me… but I know you didn’t intend to do it.”

Then, Val’s face turned on a dime and they were smiling.

“Sorry about that, Mari. So… Ready to start the best years of our lives?”

Mari smiled and offered them her hand.

“I think I am. Together.”

Marianne was happy. Val was happy.

They were ready for the future, together.

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate title: Be careful who you call cis in high school.
> 
> Thanks for reading! This had an angstier ending planned, but that was sad, so I went with this. I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> Comments/feedback is welcome!


End file.
